The Male Pout

This article aims to critically examine and analyse a rising trend in Pakistan that has gained unprecedented momentum and therefore cannot be further ignored, unfortunately. The trend I speak of is called the Male Pout.

It’s origins lie in the term ‘Male Gaze‘ where men would stupidly stare the shit out of women for various reasons. The Male Pout coincides with the rise of feminism, where men have now finally realized that women like to gaze at the opposite sex sometimes too.

While the phenomenon is too new to be studied in complete detail, a few common types of the Male Pout have been determined and are as follows:

    1. The Barely There Pout

This form of Pout is fairly subtle but requires a more complex technique (Think of the no make-up look) Basically, the subject tries to make it look like they aren’t pouting so that you think they look like that all the time. Usually, the reason for this subtle pout is fear, fear of not being accepted, where you are afraid to pout openly.

Usual offenders: Fawad Khan and Hamza Ali Abbasi

“I’m all dressed up, in a bathroom, taking a mirror selfie, but I’m not pouting”

“Maybe the mustache will cover it”

“Just suck those cheeks in and no one will ever know”

    2. The Blatant Pout

The exact opposite of the Barely There Pout, the Blatant Pout is for the fearless, where they don’t care what other people think and will openly pout in your face. Also known as the ‘Fab Pout’.

Usual Offenders: Faysal Qureshi

“Thas right bitches, I’m gorgeous”

“I’ll make sure you look at noone else while I’m in the picture”

    3. The Angry Pout

This pout perhaps stems from an insecurity that the subject feels he’s not being manly enough when he’s pouting. Therefore he introduces aggression and manliness in his pout by making sure the audience knows that he’s a manly man, even if he likes to pout. Sometimes the subject will take this picture in a gym to further reiterate his manliness.

Usual Offenders: Umair Jaswal

“My eyebrows let you know that I’m a man, but my mouth lets you know that I’m in touch with my feminine side”

“Irony is my middle name. Therefore I’ll frown when I pout, and I’ll eat chocolate in the gym.”

“Look at my muscular arms and frowny face while I twirl my manly moustache. Don’t pay attention to my pout. Look at the anger. Just look at it.”

    4. The Group Pout

This pout can be explained by the concept of ‘peer pressure’, where friends end up influencing your behaviour. This is the only logical explanation of why so many men end up pouting together in group photos, where even the women sometimes refrain from pouting.

Usual Offenders: Humayun Saeed, Hamza Ali Abbasi, Fawad Khan

“If Humayun Jee is doing it, I gotta do it too” – Gohar tries to follow the pouting maestro

#SquadGoals

While everyone is pouting for fun, Humayun Saeed takes his pouting game very seriously

    5. The Point n Pout

This is a rare form of Pout and has been created and mastered by only one subject so far. The purpose of this is to point at someone while you pout for a photograph. The reason behind this is still unknown but here are possible explanations:

  i. To be generous and shed some light on the other inferior being who dared to take a picture with the subject

   ii. To divert attention from the subject’s own insecurities by pointing at someone else (Although this is highly unlikely as the creator of this pout can be seen doing blatant pouts also)

  iii. The subject is trying to blame another person for their pout.

Usual offenders: The one and only, Faysal Qureshi

    6. The I-don’t-know-how-to-pout Pout

This phenomenon occurs amongst some males when they are either too new to the pouting world, or too old to be a part of the pouting world.

Usual Offenders: Fahad Mustafa and Aijaz Aslam

“I just became famous, I don’t really know how to do this. Is this thing on?”

“Did I get it right this time?”

“This is how the kids are smiling nowadays”

    7. The Perpetual Pout

This pout is not common and has not been seen many times. Sometimes, the subject doesn’t even realize he’s doing it and this can be confirmed by the fact that this pout occurs when the subject is unaware of a photograph being taken.

Usual Offenders: Fawad Khan

When you are so deep into the pouting game, you can’t escape it. The Pout becomes you.